The "No Duh!" Headline of the day:

From USA Today:


Venezuelan leader's power play has echoes of Castro

Gee... Ya think so??

Whatcha gonna do now, Fatboy?

Looks like yet another Haditha Marine will soon be found innocent (all emphases mine):

(U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey) Chessani was charged for dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order. Specifically, prosecutors accuse him of failure to report or investigate the killings of Iraqi civilians, which would be a violation of war by Marines under his command. He faces up to 30 months in prison and dishonorable discharge from the Marines, if convicted.

In a sworn statement in August 2006, Chessani said the killing of civilians was unfortunate but he did not consider the shooting incident to be out of the ordinary or beyond routine combat.

It is a military order that commanders report to their superiors any time their subordinates violate the laws of war.

Chessani reported the incident on the day it happened, but prosecutors claim he did not report it to officials high enough in the chain of command, Rooney said. Further, it happened during combat and thus was not a violation of war, said Rooney.

[SNIP]

"A U.S. Army colonel and an Army general conducted two separate investigations and came to the same conclusion: There was no 'massacre' and no 'cover-up,'" said the law center's president, Richard Thompson, in a statement.

"Yet the government still pursued a multi-million dollar investigation in order to appease an anti-war politician and the blame-America-first media. Now we have the absurd situation of Lt. Col. Chessani being charged with failing to report and investigate a crime that never occurred," Thompson added.

The "anti-war politician" referred to by Thompson is Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.), a retired Marine colonel who became a vocal critic of the Iraq war in 2005.

In May 2006, Murtha said at a Capitol Hill press conference: "There was no firefight. There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

As chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Defense, Murtha wields power over defense spending and that power potentially could influence the investigation and case against Ware, according to the law center.

In addition to Murtha, the law center's legal motions name other officials who supposedly biased the case, including Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) who, in 2006, was chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and vowed to hold hearings on the matter; Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who compared Haditha to the My Lai massacre of Vietnam; and U.S. Navy Secretary Donald Winter, who also made comments that potentially could pre-judge the case, said Rooney.

"They all showed a bias that these men were guilty before an investigation was complete," Rooney told Cybercast News Service .

"It's frustrating to me, as a former Marine, that a lot of reporters, media types, and politicians have the worldview from the 1960s that never changed. They wanted to make this the new My Lai because they have tried from the beginning to make this the new Vietnam," he said.

And so it goes. As has been shown time and time again on this blog, Murtha opened his fat piehole and sold fellow Marines down the river so as to endear himself to those who he thought would give him a ticket to the Majority Leader gig in the U.S. House.

And now the chickens have come home to roost.

Will Murtha now apologize, or will he continue to cut and run from his responsibility in the matter?

A spokesman from Murtha's office could not be reached for comment on this story, nor could a spokesman from Warner's office.

What a freakin' surprise.

NOT!

Gentleman and Statesman, Congressman Henry Hyde, dead at 83...

One of the truly principled men of Congress has passed ad astra...

Story here.

Ha!

That is all.

Twins News...

While Johan Santana and Tori Hunter have been the latest casualties of the high money stakes faced by the Twins in the off season, there may be at least one bright spot:

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins rookie general manager Bill Smith didn't take long to make a head-turning trade.

It just wasn't the deal everyone expected.

With all the focus recently on the Twins listening to offers for ace Johan Santana, Smith instead completed a blockbuster, six-player deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

The deal sent pitcher Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and Minor League pitcher Eduardo Morlan to Tampa in exchange for outfielder Delmon Young, infielder Brendan Harris and outfielder Jason Pridie.

The trade was the first step in the Twins trying to improve an offense which finished in the bottom half of the American League in nearly every offensive category in 2007.

Young, 22, is considered to be one of the up-and-coming hitters currently in the game. The No.1 overall pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, Young finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting this past season. He played in all 162 games for the Rays in 2007, hitting .288 with 13 home runs and 93 RBIs.

With very few exceptions, the Twins have historically had more than a knack when it comes to discovering and developing young talent into stratospheric super-stardom. This will no doubt be a rebuilding year for the small-market team with a history of building big-market talent, but look for yet another division contender in the making.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst, 11-28-07

Sgt. Antwan L. Walker
22 years old from Tampa, Florida
2nd Forward Support Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division
May 18, 2005


Sgt. Antwan Walker was excited about coming home from Iraq to celebrate his 23rd birthday with his family and friends. His mother, Andrea Pringle, was busy planning the party when an Army official unexpectedly came to her house.

She said he told her Thursday that her son was killed the previous day by a bomb blast in Ramadi. The Department of Defense hasn't publicly confirmed his death.

Sgt. Antwan Walker, known as Twan to his friends and family, joined the Army in 2000. Pringle said her son joined to earn money for college.

"Twan had a lot of goals in life," She said. "He was very ambitious and very smart."

Sgt. Walker had been in Iraq for about a year. He called his family often but didn't want to talk about war. Instead, he talked about starting a real estate career and his three children.

"He was such a good dad," his mother said. "All he wanted to do was make a good life for his kids."

In April 2005, Walker wanted to talk about the fighting. He told his mother five soldiers he was traveling with were killed. His phone calls became more frequent after that.

Pringle said she had days when she couldn't eat or sleep because of her worries. But she never forgot to give her son her support.

"I always told him I'm proud and be safe".

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

"Non Partisan," "highly ethical" Mark Ritchie?

Mark Ritchie on nonpartisanship:

"Elections must be run in a nonpartisan manner, with all political parties and candidates, including candidates not affiliated with any party, receiving equal treatment. Previous Secretaries of State Arlen Erdahl (R) and Joan Growe (DFL) operated the Office of the Secretary of State in this non-partisan manner, placing the interests of Minnesota voters above their own party’s interests. They were willing to make decisions that were right for the people of Minnesota, even if it hurt their own political party.

Under the current Secretary of State this approach has been abandoned. Decisions are made to benefit one party over others.

I intend to return the Secretary of State’s Office to this nonpartisan tradition by taking the following steps:

• Hiring elections professionals to run and staff the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office. Employees will be hired for their experience, not their political connections. They will have the training and support necessary to accurately and efficiently administer the state’s elections.

• Supporting legislation to prohibit a Secretary of State from serving on the campaign committee of another candidate. This step will help garner the public’s trust that the Secretary is truly able to serve as a fair arbitrator of elections.

• Urging the legislature to address the complications that would be caused by a close election in which an incumbent Secretary of State is a candidate. Clearly, Secretaries of State should not be allowed oversee their own recounts. Instead, the Governor should appoint a disinterested third party to manage the proceedings.

• Eliminating practices that discriminate against smaller political parties and independent candidates.

I will take these and other steps to restore Minnesota’s tradition of nonpartisan election administration. I will get the politics out of the Office of the Secretary of State."

Apparently, Mr. Ritchie's "nonpartisan" agenda didn't include refraining from utilizing State mailing lists for partisan electioneering:(All emphases mine)

ST. PAUL — An investigation into allegations that Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie used a state mailing list for political purposes grew more intense Monday when the state’s legislative auditor said he will seek testimony under oath.

Auditor Jim Nobles said he was taking the rare step in response to a published report last week in which Ritchie acknowledged he was personally involved in giving the list to his campaign, which used it to solicit contributions. Initially, Ritchie said he did not know how his campaign obtained the list.

“If (Ritchie) was not forthcoming, that is a serious matter in and of itself,” Nobles said. “If we cannot confirm the veracity of the statements from him and others in his office we’ll have to take other measures to determine what went on.”

Nobles began looking into the data sharing last month after two Republicans who participated in a civic engagement program sponsored by Ritchie’s office questioned why they were getting electronic mailings from the DFL officeholder’s campaign committee.

On Nov. 9, Ritchie’s legal adviser, Bert Black, told Nobles in a letter that the mailing list was public information and widely distributed, including at the State Fair. Black said that was his understanding of how the directory was obtained by the Ritchie campaign.

Last week, Ritchie told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he personally transferred the contact information from the Secretary of State’s office to his campaign organization. Ritchie made the same acknowledgment in an e-mail to Nobles later the same day.

In what is either a lame excuse, or a case of gross incompetence (after all, Ritchie is the State of Minnesota's Chief Elections Officer), Ritchie's office attempted to plead ignorance on the matter:

“The office of secretary of state takes the matter very seriously and we welcome the additional attention being given to this matter by the legislative auditor,” said John Aiken, Ritchie’s director of communications. “We’re looking forward to receiving their conclusions and implementing any recommendations.”

I wonder if Ritchie's offer to "implement any recommendations" extends to any recommendation that he should step down from his elected office.

Class... vs. no class.

From inviting Teddy Kennedy for movie night, to allowing the democrats to write his education plan, President Bush has bent over backward to enact the "new tone" he set out to implement in Washington.

Say what you want about Bush, but he has been gracious in all things, resorting to criticism of his opponents in only the most dire of situations. Despite attack after virulent attack, President Bush, honoring his office, has again and again taken the high road, not allowing his office to wallow in the pit of hyper-partisan politics.

Such was the case when Bush graciously hosted Al Gore at a gathering today at the White House...
Yes, the very same Al Gore who was the progenitor of this tirade:Yet the very same Al Gore who at one time (in 2002) had this to say:

In a speech February 12, his first major political address since the US Supreme Court stopped a vote count in Florida and handed the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush, the Democratic presidential candidate, Al Gore, declared his full support to the Bush administration’s plans for expanded warfare in the Middle East. Gore called for a “final reckoning” with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

The former vice president spoke in New York City before a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations, the think tank that publishes Foreign Affairs and has long exercised important influence on foreign policy, whether the occupant of the White House was a Democrat or Republican.

Gore specifically solidarized himself with the “axis of evil” rhetoric in Bush’s State of the Union speech. Bush’s bellicose language—particularly his singling out of Iraq, Iran and North Korea—has been widely denounced in Europe and criticized even by several congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Republican Senator Chuck Hagel.

“As far as I’m concerned, there really is something to be said for occasionally putting diplomacy aside and laying one’s cards on the table,” Gore said. “There is value in calling evil by its name. One should never underestimate the power of bold words coming from a president of the United States.”

And yes, the same Al Gore who had this to say back in 1992:

While President Bush has remained steadfast in his principle that the world needs to be rid of Islamic Fascism and terrorism in all its forms, democrats like Al Gore, Ted Kennedy and Dhimmi Carter have been doing their level best to play populist politics like a dime-store piano.

Yet President Bush continues to take the high road.

Class-- or no class?

You decide.

Regarding the types of savages we're fighting...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three suspected al Qaeda militants, including two sisters, beheaded their uncle and his wife, forcing the couple's children to watch, Iraqi police said on Friday.

The militants considered that school guard Youssef al-Hayali was an infidel because he did not pray and wore western-style trousers, they told police interrogators after being arrested in Diyala province northwest of Baghdad.

The three cousins executed Hayali and his wife Zeinab Kamel at the all-boys school in Jalawlah in Diyala province, village police chief Captain Ahmed Khalifa said.

No further details were available.

Sunni Arab communities across Iraq have been turning against al Qaeda because of its indiscriminate killings and strict interpretation of Islam, which includes a ban on smoking in public and forcing schoolgirls to wear veils.

Islamofascists, Nazis, Stalinists?

When it all comes down to it, is there really any difference?

Yeah, I know--there are those who say we have no business fighting these cretins.

To them, I politiely say, "Bite me!"

A Day Late... but...

I couldn't pass up this video produced by an internet acquaintance of mine...

Thanks, Randy...



Man... I need to walk that walk.

The Next "Kid Johnny" Lang?

8-year old Quinn Sullivan, performing with Buddy Guy:

Happy Thanksgiving from the Palace!

From my family, to yours... may you experience all the greatest joys that this life and GOD has to offer!

-Leo-

Regarding missing a grim milestone....

No, I'm not talking about deaths in Iraq.

If you'll look on the sidebar of this blog, you'll see a count-up meter on how many days it's been since the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, at the hands of the drunken Senator-for-Life Ted Kennedy...

Looking at it today, I see that just over 14,000 days have passed since that fateful day, along with as many days that justice is yet to be served.

As Ted Kennedy bloviates about waterboarding, deaths in Iraq, and other issues, perhaps it may be germane to focus on the skeletons present in his own closet.

Just a thought.

Wednesday Hero Blogburst, 11/21/2007

Spc. Roger G. Ling 20 years old from Douglaston, New York Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team February 19, 2004 When Spc. Roger G. Ling's Humvee was struck by a homemade bomb in October of 2003, he survived the attack and he worked to keep his superior officer, Lt. Matt Homa, alive. Spc. Ling was riding in the backseat of the Humvee when it was hit. It destroyed Lt. Homa's door. "It almost killed me. From what I've been told, Roger helped keep me awake until my medic arrived." said Lt. Homa. "Ling was a good kid. You could count on him to do anything." Spc. Ling was killed, along with Second Lieutenant Jeffrey C. Graham of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, when their unit came under fire from insurgents in Khalidiyah, Iraq. Only two miles from where he'd survived the attack just four months earlier. Leona Ling said she was grateful her brother came home in August of 2003 just before leaving for Iraq. "He had to have his tonsils taken out," she said. "It was a blessing in disguise because we got to see him again." In phone calls home, the soldier spoke wistfully of returning to New York and going to college. "He wanted to hear about what was going on at home and all the latest family gossip," Leona Ling recalled. Survivors include his father, Wai Ling, a U.S. Army veteran.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your blog, you can go here.

Jack Murtha: Moving the Goal Posts?

Things have inarguably been going much better in Iraq since the advent of the surge, and the efforts of our troops have been bearing fruit. But when the victory of his fellow Marines means a political shellacking for Jack Murtha, does he celebrate their successes?

Hell no.

He just moves the goal posts.

Pretty pathetic, no?